//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Lesser Light: My Time in the Limelight // by soothsayer //------------------------------// After recess Cheerilee made her way back to the nurses office to check on her newest student. After pushing open the door she was met by the sight of Nurse Twistheart applying a bandage to Narci's hoof. A flash of fear crossed her face as she thought about one of her students getting hurt. Pushing the nurse aside Cheerilee felt a sudden need to watch out for the little filly. "Your not hurt too....Wow!' muttered Cheerilee as she noticed that Narci wasn't wearing her glasses, "Your eyes their so-". "Don't say it!" said Narci as she placed her uninjured hoof against Cheerliee's lips. Suddenly she flushed as what she had done caught up to her. Slowly she removed her hoof with a guilty look on her face, "eh hee! Sorry about that!" she squeaked. "It's all right this once," replied Cheerilee. Looking at her now bandaged foot she could help but look at the nurse out of the corner of her eye, "It was just a little cut. I don't think this nurse knows what she is doing," she thought. The young nurse fidgeted the roll of gauze she had used to wrap her patient's hoof up. After spotting the now busted pair of glasses Cheerilee eyed the bat filly raising an eyebrow in question, "What happened to your glasses?" "I...uh...wore them to sleep and they sorta fell off my face and I guess I must have rolled on them during the uh...nap," she lied. "I see. How did you hurt your hoof then?" retorted the red mare. Beads of sweat started to form on Narci's brow. Biting her lip she tried to come up with a good excuse, one that put her at blame and not anypony else. It was her fault, but she didn't want Cheerilee to punish Silver Spoon for her part in the destruction. For a moment she questioned her reasoning, why did she feel like she needed to protect Silver, "I stepped on them when I raised up a few minutes ago. Yeah, that's how I cut my hoof," she replied as she placed her hoof down in emphasis. A wicked little smile crossed the nurses lips, "Miss Narcissus?" "Uh, yes Ms. Twistheart?" "If you broke your glasses on the cot why did I find shards of glass by the door?" Her eyes shot open as it dawned on her that her lie didn't match with the evidence, "I got mad when I realized I broke my glasses,so I threw them across the room," she said in a mock angry tone. The two adults looked at the filly with a scrutinizing gaze, "I buy it!" cheerfully replied the teacher. Letting out a sigh of relief Narci reached for her glasses, looking over the twisted frame and shattered eye pieces she groaned. "It will take a couple days for ma to ship my spare glasses here," she thought. "Nurse Twistheart? Do you know a repair spell?" asked Cheerilee. "Oh, yes! If all the pieces are in the room I think I can fix them up in a jiffy." chirped the Nurse. Her horn gave off a orange glow as she pulled the glasses from Narci's grip. The glasses drifted just out of her reach as the frames twisted back into their original shape and the glass started to fill the eyes pieces one piece at a time like a delicate jig saw puzzle. A moment latter the orange glow descended and plopped the glasses down into Narci's waiting hooves. After running her hoof across the eye pieces she noticed a small hole in the left piece, "They're not completely fixed," she wined. "Hmm I guess one of the shards must be out of my spell range," remarked the nurse. Narci put on the glasses and looked around the room, the hole didn't matter much. "Thanks Nurse Twistheart, I can see out of them just fine. Hole or not." said Narci trying to make the best of her situation. "Your welcome little miss, but try to be more careful next time." Cheerilee helped Narci off the cot and then ushered her to the door, "Do you feel like returning to class?" "Um huh," replied Narci. They were half way the classroom when Narci stepped on something gritty. Stopping in her tracks she lifted her uninjured hoof and examined the sandy grit. Her nose was assaulted with the smell of blood, her face fell as she realized the possibility. "The missing shard from my glasses, Silver Spoon must have stepped on it just like I did." she said under her breath. Her stomach suddenly twisted up in a knot. Sure she didn't particularly like Silver Spoon, but she never wished the filly harm. "Miss Cheerilee? May I go the little fillies room first?" she asked shrilly. The teacher turned around and gave Narci a wide smile, "Sure, but don't be too long." Narci trotted to the restroom and then washed the blood off of her hoof, "I can't go back to class. I won't be able to look at Silver. I shouldn't have treated her that way. She was just curious. How often does a night-pegasi, especially one as awesome as me come to Ponyville? Never!" A slight breeze entered the room and tickled Narci's coat. Searching for the source of the air flow Narci discovered a half open window across from one of the stalls. It was small, but Narci was smaller. A few desperate moments latter Narci fell the short distance from the window to the ground, "Oof!" she groaned as her bottom met grass. Dropping down to her belly she crawled forward and hid behind the hedge row that bordered this side of the school. The only pony in sight was Mr. Greenhooves who was watering a flower bed off to her left. She knew for speaking to him early that morning that he was hard of hearing and that if she was quiet she could sneak passed him with no problems. The only thought that worried her was how Ms. Cheerilee was going to react to one of her students skipping the last few hours of school. Dismissing the fear she recieted her favorite catchphrase, "You only live once!"